The caravan moved before sunrise.
Haruto only realized this because someone threw a waterskin at his face.
He sat upright.
The waterskin bounced off his forehead and landed in the sand.
A voice sighed.
"You were supposed to catch that."
Haruto rubbed his forehead.
Lyra stood nearby with her arms crossed.
"Good morning to you too."
"It was. Then I saw you sleeping in the path."
Haruto glanced around.
Several travelers were already preparing the beasts.
Bundles were being tied down.
Ropes checked.
Water counted.
Nobody looked particularly excited to be awake.
Which felt reassuringly familiar.
"How long until Ardent?"
Lyra shrugged.
"If the weather stays good? Four days."
Haruto blinked.
"Four?"
"What were you expecting?"
"...one."
The woman stared at him.
"Did you walk here?"
"Yes."
"Through the Sea of Glass?"
"...yes."
Lyra looked genuinely concerned now.
Haruto decided not to elaborate.
The caravan eventually began moving.
The pace was steady.
Not fast.
Not slow.
The kind of pace designed to survive long distances.
For the first few hours, nothing happened.
Which, according to Belial, was suspicious.
"NOTHING HAS HAPPENED."
"That's usually a good thing."
"NOT IN STORIES."
"This isn't a story."
Belial looked at him.
Haruto immediately regretted saying that.
The goat's grin was unbearable.
Around midday, the caravan stopped near a rocky outcrop.
Not because anyone was tired.
Because the animals needed rest.
Haruto sat beneath a patch of shade.
The difference was immediate.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he wasn't being roasted alive.
He almost cried.
Nearby, merchants unpacked small wooden crates.
One of them opened a box filled with colorful stones.
Red.
Blue.
Green.
Polished smooth.
Haruto's attention lingered for a moment.
Not because they were valuable.
One of them looked familiar.
Blue.
The same color as the evening sky back on Earth.
The same color Sakura used to point at whenever sunsets happened.
His chest tightened slightly.
Just for a second.
Then passed.
The merchant noticed him staring.
"Wanna buy one?"
Haruto blinked.
"Oh."
The merchant picked up the stone.
"Cheap."
Haruto looked at it.
Then at the merchant.
Then at the stone again.
It wasn't magical.
It wasn't useful.
It was just a rock.
A very pretty rock.
"...how much?"
Belial immediately groaned.
"NO."
Haruto ignored him.
A few minutes later, the blue stone disappeared into one of his pockets.
Belial watched in disbelief.
"YOU BOUGHT A ROCK."
"It was inexpensive."
"IT'S A ROCK."
"It is a polished rock."
"THAT DOESN'T HELP."
Haruto smiled slightly.
The goat muttered to itself for the next twenty minutes.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the caravan, Lyra observed the exchange.
She didn't say anything.
But she definitely noticed.
That was becoming a problem.
The woman noticed everything.
That evening, after the caravan stopped again, several travelers gathered around a fire.
Someone produced a stringed instrument.
Another person started singing.
The song wasn't particularly impressive.
Half the singers were terrible.
The other half were worse.
Yet nobody seemed to care.
People laughed.
Shared food.
Complained about weather.
Argued over directions.
Normal things.
Haruto sat quietly nearby.
Listening.
Watching.
For the first time since arriving in this world, nobody expected anything from him.
He wasn't solving a mystery.
He wasn't surviving a curse.
He wasn't searching ruins.
He was simply...
there.
The feeling was strange.
Almost uncomfortable.
Because it reminded him how long it had been since he felt normal.
A shadow fell across him.
Haruto looked up.
Lyra.
The woman sat beside him without asking.
For a while, neither spoke.
The fire crackled quietly.
Then Lyra suddenly asked:
"What's her name?"
Haruto froze.
Completely.
"...what?"
"The girl."
His stomach dropped.
Lyra looked toward the fire.
Not at him.
"The one you're carrying things for."
Silence.
Belial immediately turned around.
Interested.
Very interested.
Traitor.
Haruto looked away.
"...what makes you think there's a girl?"
Lyra snorted.
"You bought a blue stone."
"That's not evidence."
"You smiled."
"..."
"At a rock."
"..."
"That's evidence."
Belial started laughing.
Actually laughing.
Haruto considered throwing it into the desert.
Lyra's expression softened slightly.
Not teasing.
Not mocking.
Just curious.
"Is she waiting for you?"
The question hit harder than expected.
Haruto stared into the flames.
Images appeared immediately.
A wedding.
A smile.
Cherry blossoms.
A promise.
Then nothing.
Just distance.
An impossible amount of distance.
"...I don't know."
The answer came out quieter than intended.
Lyra looked at him.
For once—
she didn't ask another question.
The fire continued burning.
The travelers continued singing.
And hidden safely inside his pocket—
a small blue stone waited for someone who didn't even remember him anymore.